THE Undi18 movement called on Putrajaya today to appoint an electoral expert with experience to fill the Election Commission (EC) chair when Abdul Ghani Salleh retires next month.

In a statement, Undi18 said the new chairman should have experience in on electoral reforms and a reformist who will make the necessary changes to the electoral system as well as an independent candidate without political affiliations.

Undi18 said it would be a betrayal of the people’s mandate should the prime minister “miss the opportunity and neglect their responsibility to appoint a competent, independent, and reform-minded EC chairperson”.

They said the government must not only appoint the new EC chairman wisely, it must ensure the government’s motto of transparency, accountability, and reform is reflected in the appointment.

Undi18 said the EC chair vacancy comes at a critical time, coinciding with the electoral re-delineation of Malaysia.

The exercise is ongoing in Sarawak, next year in Sabah and 2026 in the peninsula.

“This re-delineation (exercise) is particularly crucial, as it will be the first electoral boundary review since the implementation of the Undi18 Bill.”

The passing of the bill saw more than eight million new voters added to the electoral roll.

Undi18 said the government must ensure that the delineation exercise takes place independently and transparently without interference from the government or politicians.

The EC, it added, must also speed up long-overdue reforms of other aspects of the electoral system, such as changes to the postal voting system, amendments to the Electoral Offences Act, and the implementation of election expenditure audits for candidates and political parties.

“With this in mind, the government must not only appoint an independent and reform-minded EC chairperson but must also commit to non-interference in the duties of the EC in order to allow it to operate independently and fairly for the interests of all Malaysians.”

On the question of appointments, Undi18 said it “wished to stress” the need for an independent Parliamentary Standing Committee for Appointments to scrutinise the appointment of key government officials, including the EC chair.

“The government must ensure an independent and reform-minded EC chairperson as a shepherd for Malaysia’s democracy regardless of whichever party wins power in the future.

“In a democracy, electoral reforms are the mother of all reforms.

“Electoral reform and good governance have been the rallying cry for the Pakatan Harapan coalition for decades.” – April 9, 2024.